A Proper Goodbye
by Enjoyseries
Summary: Olivia knew it was a bad idea. She had been standing outside that door for several long minutes, unable to move, unable to leave. But she needed answers. She couldn't let him go, not without an explanation. An added scene of the episode "Endgame". This is my take on how the season should have ended.


**My heart is broken after the episode… I couldn't do without writing my own vision of how the season should have ended. Consider it as an added scene. I don't mind if it doesn't fit with the characters, I just let my imagination run wild. I gave myself a small closure and decided to share it with you guys! It's a simple interlude, a little one-shot before going back to my other fanfic "Losing Hold". Enjoy!**

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Olivia knew it was a bad idea. She had been standing outside that door for several long minutes, unable to move, unable to leave. A part of her hoped he was already gone, because it would be easier living with regrets the rest of her life than being brave enough to walk through that door.

But she needed answers. She needed to understand why he was acting this way all of a sudden. Her brain couldn't process what had happened. She couldn't let him go, not without an explanation.

Her heart was beating violently against her rib cage, but she managed to knock three times against the door with a feverish hand. She waited, and these two tiny minutes felt like an eternity.

She finally heard some shuffles behind the door, and when it opened abruptly she slightly startled. Peter froze at her sight. For a fraction of a second, she saw his face soften and noticed the glimpse in his eyes. She had caught him off guard. He didn't even know she knew where he lived but after all, nothing surprised him anymore when it came to the Lieutenant. He knew very well why she was there, and what she had in mind. She had always been stubborn, but of all the things he had expected her to do showing up at his door was the one he couldn't predict.

"If you're here to change my mind, it's not worth it." His tone was harsh, and his face hardened. He didn't want to show her any cracks anymore. He had to be strong. He was fighting against every cell in his body not to collapse in her arms, right here and now.

He turned back and went straight in his apartment, letting the front door opened. She took it as an invitation and walked in, following his steps.

"I'm here to talk."

"I've made my decision, Liv. There's nothing to talk about." He stepped in his bedroom, and Olivia stopped at the threshold when she noticed two open black bags on the edge of the bed. He was definitely leaving, and the image hit her hard in the heart because it suddenly felt too real.

"You can't leave, not like that." He tried his best to ignore the crack in her voice, as he packed the last pile of clothes in his bag.

"I _have to_." He simply said, without looking at her.

"I never wanted to put you into that position." She took a step forward. "This is not what I want!" She raised her voice. She had understood why he had done what he did with Rob Miller, and she would always be grateful for that. But she never thought it would have impacted him that much.

Peter stopped what he was doing, and lowered his head, closing his eyes. This wouldn't be as easy as he thought it would.

"I know that, I know all of that already." He then turned to face her and sighed. "Listen, this isn't your fault." He was finally looking straight into her eyes. He could read in them she was pleading him not to go and it broke his heart into millions of pieces knowing he was the main cause of all this pain.

She slightly frowned, not believing a word he said.

"But why do I have the feeling it is?" She said in a small voice. He suddenly felt the urge to protect her again, to surround his arms around her and never let go. Instead, he came closer to where she was standing.

"Don't do this to yourself. I told you, this is on me." He replied with a soft voice, as if he was trying to soothe her sorrows with such futile words. His face finally softened as he watched her. She was so beautiful his heart ached. He was letting her in again, and it was hurting him more than it should because he knew deep down this was the last time he was seeing her. He came back to his senses and shook his head slightly. "I can't-I can't do this anymore." He whispered, talking to himself and stepped back.

"Can't do what? I don't understand." She powerlessly watched him closed the zip of the bags and grabbed one in each hand. She moved closer, and as he walked past her without a single glance, she turned around and grabbed his arm, stopping him in his tracks. "Peter, talk to me!" She almost yelled at him in an urging tone. She had enough of his implied words.

They looked in each other's eyes one more time. Peter pinched his lips, and clenched his jaw. Olivia was desperate, and he had hardly seen her that way. He sworn he had seen flames dancing in her beautiful brown eyes. They both could feel the tension. The air was getting thick, and their hearts were beating even faster. He had thought about this moment a hundred times before. But never would he have had the courage to open his heart to her in this way. Now that he was leaving, he no longer saw any use for it. Why inflicting even more pain on themselves? But when he was looking at those eyes, at that face, he thought he owed her at least the truth.

After a while, his shoulders relaxed a bit as he gave in and he dropped the bags at his feet.

"When you told me about Rob Miller going after Noah, I thought I was gonna rip his head off with my own hands." Just thinking of this man again made his blood boil up. "I couldn't bear the sight of you being so terrified and broken. I had to do something. I had to protect you, both of you."

Olivia was listening to him so attentively. She was swallowing his words.

"Suddenly, I forgot all the books, all the values that made me go to law school in the first place, all my legal ethics that made me the man I became. All I had in mind was _you._ And it makes me feel sick thinking that I could have failed today. I could have failed and right now, Miller would be planning what God knows to destroy you."

"He's probably already doing it anyway." She tried to comfort him, but he didn't hear a word of what she said.

"I can't risk losing you again, not like that. I let… my feelings take over my professional conscience. It can't happen anymore."

_His feelings._ What was he talking about? Was he really…?

"Wha-What are you saying?" Olivia frowned. This couldn't be.

"I'm saying…" Peter took a deep breath. "Falling in love with you was not my plan, Liv."

He dropped this bomb, and she felt like she'd been hit by a truck out of a sudden. He could see she was shocked, but he didn't flinch and kept going.

"But, you are _you…_ and you have this ability to see the good in all of us. You are the kind of person who never loses hope, who believes in every story that victims have to tell. You work with your guts, and yet you manage to balance your heart and your reason. I can't do that, not anymore. Not with you by my side." He then softly smiled, thinking back of the past two years they had shared. "You traveled your way into me, so easily that I didn't even see it coming." He paused. "You make me feel things, Olivia. Things that I never possibly imagine I could ever feel for someone. I'm terrified of what I'm feeling inside."

"Peter," His name escaped her mouth and it sounded like a melody. She grabbed his face with both of her hands, and made him look into her eyes. They were full of tears, and her vision was blurred. "Don't… don't shut me out. Please."

He closed his eyes at her touch. Her hands felt so good against his cheeks, he wished time would stop. He raised his hands and grabbed her wrists. His thumbs stroked the bottom of her palms and, gently, he bent his head forward. She met him halfway, and she rested her forehead against his. This sudden proximity they were sharing, he had always forbidden himself to allow it. Now he knew why.

"I can't keep working with you knowing that if I have to break the law for you again… I wouldn't hesitate for a minute."

"You don't have to do that." She whimpered. This couldn't be the end of their partnership. She couldn't believe a word. He had to stay, they would find a way.

Slowly, Peter took her hands off his face and lowered her arms without loosening his grip.

"You have to let me go…" He whispered with closed eyes, almost inaudibly as tears were streaming down his cheeks.

"No." She breathed out. Her whole body was shaking at what she was about to say. "Wait."

_Not again,_ she thought pitifully. She had found herself in this position far more times than she should have. She had said goodbye to people she cared the most about, watching them leave without a word. This time was the one time too many, the one that was tearing her heart out and she wouldn't let her last chance slip through her fingers again.

Peter opened his eyes to meet hers. She was holding her breath, not sure of what he would say or do next. She had stopped thinking clearly the moment he had told her he was in love with her. She didn't care of anything else but him.

He was surprised to notice that her eyes had briefly slipped down his mouth. At his turn, he shyly let his gaze fell on her parted lips for a second, and silently they gave each other the consent they needed. He bent his head to the side, the tip of her nose brushed his skin and they both knew it was too late to ask themselves what on earth they were doing.

Suddenly, thin lips were on hers, needy and desperate. She felt the intoxicating feeling of his heated breath, the taste of their salty tears. Peter felt her lips flutter against his and she kissed him back without hesitation. She cupped one of his cheek again, the wetness of tears still matted across his face. The kiss was underlined by a desperation that made Peter's chest aching as he brought both hands to her face, possessively. Olivia's tongue ran against his bottom lip, brushed against his teeth and Peter groaned into her mouth. Nothing in their minds seemed to make sense right now. He was kissing her like it was all he wanted to do for the rest of his life, his tongue firm against hers, and it's _everything_ he needed right now.

They pulled back, and looked at each other. Her eyes were glossier, richer brown than before. They were breathing a little too heavy into the air between them and they couldn't get a hold on themselves.

"Olivia…" He breathed in her mouth. Peter felt just as lost as her. He felt wrecked, shaken and _vulnerable._ He sure as hell didn't expect the night to turn that way, and never ever thought for a second she would have respond to his kiss. His entire body was shaking with lust, sadness and love. It was a spiral of feelings that was leaving a bitter taste in his mouth, a taste of something unfinished.

She moved his head up, closer to Peter's. She let her own hands grab the front of his shirt, pulling him against her. She knew she would probably regret it later, but she felt a need for his touch overwhelming her. And before she knew it, the words escaped her mouth.

"Make love to me." Olivia murmured in a pleading voice, looking deep into his eyes. Peter shuddered and knew he couldn't deny either of them any longer. She was asking him to give them one last goodbye, a memory to hold on to. She was asking him a closure.

He curled his fingers tight into her hair as he slightly pulled back to look at her with an intense gaze. She was breathtaking, and he paused for a moment, wanting to anchor her beautiful face in his mind.

Without thinking anymore, he leaned over and their lips crashed again, in a searing kiss. He achingly pressed his mouth hard and fierce against hers and didn't want to ever let go when he felt her hand sliding up his neck. She slipped it too gently behind his head and slowly held him there. His lips trailed from her lips down to the curve of her neck. She relished in the feeling of his hands exploring her body, as she ran her fingers through his soft, thick hair. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight as if clinging to life itself.

They were past the point of thinking of all the consequences. Tomorrow he would be gone, she knew that. She would let him go, but not now. Not yet. _Not like that._ If this was their last moment together – and this was, they had known it from the start – they would make sure to give themselves a _proper goodbye._

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_The End._


End file.
